I honestly have to wonder if many of the other reviewers have seen the same film as I. Unfortunately, I went into this film with very high expectations, as the premise and the content warnings seemed very much like they would deliver something compelling and extreme. The main red flag however, is that this was a low budget movie from a director who made no further films. This can sometimes mean something brilliant, but in this case, the film just barely steps above the bar of "cheap amateurish independent straight to video film".The Writing Style/Plot DevelopmentOne important thing to note is that this film is very dialogue driven, mainly with the monologues by the characters to the camera. I know well about the writing process, and as in plays, when your story is so heavily dialogue based, you're at a great risk of making your characters seem schizophrenic, because that dialogue is ultimately based on the episodic mood swings of the writer over a long period of time, crunched down into the short period of time within the material. The foremost problem with the material delivered by these young actors is that really, it sounds like dialogue written by a balding middle aged man who THINKS he knows how teenagers talk, feel, and rationalize, which is packed with tonnes of whiny pseudo intellectual nonsense, which because they're TEENAGERS, never goes full circle and often ends in vanity, triteness, or ambiguity, so in most cases a REAL concise reason for committing suicide is never established, and how each character's "inner thoughts" contradict from scene to scene shows that the writer himself did not BELIEVE the dialogue, and thus was unable to make it coherent and credible.Actors/CharactersMy first impression was that the directing was bad, but the story and idea were good. I began to think twice about this in how the instigator of the whole premise "Scott", tells his very eclectic group of friends about his idea one by one, who ALL think it's so cool and amazing, and that they too MUST commit suicide along with him. The young actors were fairly mediocre, aside from Kris Lemche as "Patrick" who was the only one really able to create a compelling character with some sort of screen presence. I personally did not like any of the characters, especially the main protagonist "Scott" who speaks like a programmed robot, so filled with technical analytical phrases, that he only comes across as a caricature, and his friends have a bit of this too. Even though they're supposed to be non mainstream, in this film, a hodgepodge of sub cultures and social backgrounds so that ALL BASES of teen anxiety are covered, it's hard to imagine anyone being that out of touch with the world they live in, and moreover, "Scott" is able to rationally convince the school bully to return their camera, that he stole, with this very irritating way of speaking.The Directing/Scene LayoutThe directing, combined with a very stagey unravelling of events is what I found amazing that so many other reviewers were able to overlook. The classroom scenes, with the protagonist goofing off with his camera were very badly handled. That just won't happen without the smart ass students as well as the teacher getting in your face about it, and most teachers would confiscate the camera, but no one says a word. Picture having a conversation on your telephone in a classroom. How ridiculous would that be? Also, Patrick's character, spying on everyone with his camera, looking up girl's dresses, masturbating in the girl's washroom, without being seen, heard, or getting in trouble, not to mention abducting a screaming 10 year old in a crowded supermarket, hauling her into the washroom where he rapes and kills her without being seen, heard or caught, is simply just not realistic.Suicidal MotivesThe real crux of the issue however is the suicidal motives of the characters and how they were handled. of the 4 characters who state their cases for WHY they plan to kill themselves: Scott: inner freedom. Sandy: testament to true love. Trudi: domestic discord. Patrick: homicidal urges? None of these are given much background or ANY aside from Trudi's case, though still not convincingly, who ridiculously enough, in all 6 of them is the only one who is shown to have typical problems of depression, the kind you see in most real life suicide cases. The characters, Rick and Cody, who we are given no inner insight into, are wasted, and seem very full of life rather than depression, Particularly Rick, who in this film represents typical quasi hip-hop culture, who doesn't seem to fit in with this group of people at all.Closing Notes/Film MessageI will close by touching on one of the very last phrases spoken into a camera by the character "Scott" and showing truly how badly the people involved in the making of this film do NOT understand their subject. "Do you want to know the real truth? I did it because I was bored. The number one killer of teenagers today isn't drugs or alcohol... It's just plain boredom.... AND I WAS BORED!". Not only is it hilarious, but it's just plain not true. Any deaths to teenagers caused by boredom result from "Accidental" not "suicidal" deaths such as car crashes, skateboard injuries, auto-asphyxiation or the like. The impulse of suicide tends to come from ANYTHING but boredom, and instead, derives from feeling horrible and emotionally destroyed for whatever causal reasons. True, the character can say anything, and it doesn't matter if it's true or not, but by now, he's been reduced to a talking point with a face, not a character. I watched this horrible film because I was bored, luckily, it did not make me want to kill myself.

This film was brilliant, as dark and brutal as they get. The plot on the surface may be fantastical at parts but regardless of its extremities i found realistic depth in the characters very individual stories, showing the harsh truth behind every day lives.I think the films current rating is an absolute insult. If you like dark, interesting films you will love this. The people rating this thought they were watching a teen flick obviously. But if your the kind of person who would like this film, you don't pay attention to critic ratings anyway. Im glad i watched this film alone as i wouldn't feel comfortable watching it with someone else. I suggest others do the same.

My guess is that any of the good reviews for this heaping pile of manure (basking in the hot summer sun)were made by teenagers. Let it be known that while I am not a teenager, I'm not too far off.This movie started out with 45 minutes of what seemed to be some pretty interesting narratives. If you can ignore that for some odd reason most of the voices were over-dubbed (terribly), then you would find some interesting takes on life & death. After that you get very very tired of listening to these people, and then after that a little black girl gets raped (on camera), and then a school gets shot up. Call me ignorant, call me whatever you want, but this movie ended with nothing said, and nothing gained, except for maybe an upset stomach.Well acted, poorly scripted, poorly edited, poorly directed. The actors did a decent job in a movie that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.Thanks for a disgusting waste of my precious time.

State's Evidence is a timely film about a group of high school kids that plan to commit suicide together after one instigator brings the idea to the group. The kids get camcorders and film their exploits and memoirs over several days while they prepare to die. In relative truthfulness, some people when faced with eminent death or utter hopelessness climb to a higher plane that brings about courage and compassion while others sink to the depths of depravity. The story culminates in, of course, a high school shooting where the bullies get it as well as the innocent. The commentary by the shooter in the end has its merits as it is becoming more evident that the hopeless juvenile is more apt to become violent when they sink into the depths. While its always good to see a bully get it on film, its more satisfying to see a bully who has become an good and active member of society. I tend to group bullies and shooters into the same category of sociopaths. It's a Darwinian twist that bullies who dish out depravity and shooters who can't overcome life's battles tend to cancel each other out. Neither one is fit. An A class film with much to say.